The Chinese word "自然" is formed through the conceptual combination of its two constituent characters: "自", meaning "self" or "from itself", and "然", meaning "so" or "thus". Together, they create the literal idea of "self-so" or "thus of itself", which originated in classical Chinese thought, particularly Daoist philosophy, to express the principle of spontaneity and the inherent way of the natural world, essentially, how things are without artificial interference. This formation captures the essence of nature as operating by its own intrinsic patterns, leading to the modern meaning of "nature" or "natural".